Roll Call: Foreign aid rider tangles up final spending talks
“…[T]he White House is raising concerns in year-end spending talks about language secured by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., in the Senate’s State-Foreign Operations bill they fear could cut out faith-based aid groups from U.S. Agency for International Development contracts. Shaheen argues the provision in the bill would simply require USAID contractors to adhere to current law, which stipulates they can’t deny services to individuals based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, political affiliation, or other factors. The Shaheen amendment would require USAID to notify the committee of instances where contractors receiving family planning, reproductive health, or global HIV/AIDS program funds run afoul of an Obama-era regulation prohibiting discrimination against potential aid recipients…” (Shutt, 12/6).